TDMA Slot Reservation in Cluster-Based VANETs

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are a form of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) in which vehicles on the road form the nodes of the network. VANETs provide several services to enhance the safety and comfort of drivers and passengers. These services can be obtained by the wireless exchange of information among the vehicles driving on the road. In particular, the transmission of two different types of messages, safety/update and non-safety messages. The transmission of safety/update message aims to inform the nearby vehicles about the sender\u27s current status and/or a detected dangerous situation. This type of transmission is designed to help in accident and danger avoidance. Moreover, it requires high message generated rate and high reliability. On the other hand, the transmission of non-safety message aims to increase the comfort on vehicles by supporting several non-safety services, from notifications of traffic conditions to file sharing. Unfortunately, the transmission of non-safety message has less priority than safety messages, which may cause shutting down the comfort services. The goal of this dissertation is to design a MAC protocol in order to provide the ability of the transmission of non-safety message with little impact on the reliability of transmitting safety message even if the traffic and communication densities are high. VANET is a highly dynamic network. With lack of specialized hardware for infrastructure and the mobility to support network stability and channel utilization, acluster-based MAC protocol is needed to solve these overcomes. This dissertation makes the following contributions: 1. A multi-channel cluster-based TDMA MAC protocol to coordinate intracluster communications (TC-MAC) 2. A CH election and cluster formation algorithm based on the traffic flow and a cluster maintenance algorithm that benefits from our cluster formation algorithm 3. A multi-channel cluster-based CDNIA/TDMA hybrid MAC protocol to coordinate inter-cluster communications I will show that TC-MAC provides better performance than the current WAVE standard in terms of safety/update message reliability and non-safety message delivery. Additionally, I will show that my clustering and cluster maintenance protocol provides more stable clusters, which will reduce the overhead of clusterhead election and re-clustering and leads to an efficient hierarchical network topology

Quantifying Program Offerings with a Cybersecurity Education Maturity Model

The jobs gap is a problem in cybersecurity whereby there are insufficient number of qualified individuals to fill the jobs in this burgeoning area. Work has been done to understand this gap and close it. A framework for this gap analysis has been identified with 3 key dimensions: program offering, student pipeline and program capacity. This paper seeks to further explore the program offering dimension, developing a model for measuring academic program offerings. The purpose of this framework is to enable further research on efforts to decrease the jobs gap, specifically through state level initiatives and funding

A Framework for Cybersecurity Gap Analysis in Higher Education

The gap between those qualified for jobs in cybersecurity, and the needs of professionals remains an issue, despite the recent emergence of the importance of cybersecurity. Our project develops a holistic framework to perform a gap analysis by which institutes of higher education can start to understand and identify methods through which they can work to address this gap. While most existing frameworks focus purely on the curricular perspective, our framework extends this to also explore program capacity and the pipeline of incoming students

A Framework for Describing Alternative Keyboard Structures in Augmented Reality

As adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) devices, such as the Microsoft Hololens, has been increasing in fields such as military and medicine, security should be considered. One type of attack that has been demonstrated is the shoulder surfing attack, whereby an observer can discover a password that was entered by the user through observation of their actions without ever seeing the characters they select. One proposed countermeasure to this is altering the structure of the keyboard without altering the relative arrangement of the keys. This paper proposes a framework for specifying a base keyboard in AR devices, as well describe alterations to this structure. The resultant framework should be ideal for developing randomization schemes that can be assessed for usability and implemented in AR devices

Using Traffic Flow for Cluster Formation in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Abstract—We present a lane-based clustering algorithm designed to provide stability in cluster lifetime for vehicular adhoc networks (VANETs) in urban scenarios. Stable clustering methods reduce the overhead of re-clustering and lead to an efficient hierarchical network topology. During the creation of VANET clusters, cluster members select one member to be the clusterhead. Fewer clusterhead changes result in a more stable cluster. To achieve this goal, cluster members must select a member that has the potential to be a clusterhead longer than other cluster members. Our method aims to select a clusterhead based on the lane where most of the traffic will flow. I

Friend: A cyber-physical system for traffic flow related information aggregation and dissemination

Abstract—In this paper, we introduce the theoretical foundations of FRIEND: A cyber-physical system for traffic Flow-Related Information aggrEgatioN and Dissemination. By integrating resources and capabilities at the nexus between the cyber and physical worlds, FRIEND will contribute to aggregating traffic flow data collected by the huge fleet of vehicles on our roads into a comprehensive, near real-time synopsis of traffic flow conditions. We anticipate providing the drivers with a meaningful, color-coded, at-a-glance view of flow conditions ahead, alerting them to congested traffic. FRIEND can be used to provide accurate information about traffic flow and can be used to propagate this information. The workhorses of FRIEND are the ubiquitous lane delimiters (a.k.a. cat-eyes) on our roadways that, at the moment, are used simply as dumb reflectors. Our main vision is that by endowing cat’s eyes with a modest power source, detection and communication capabilities they will play an important role in collecting, aggregating and disseminating traffic flow conditions to the driving public. We envision the cat-eye system to be supplemented by road-side units (RSU) deployed at regular intervals (e.g. every km or so). The RSUs placed on opposite sides of the roadway constitute a logical unit and are connected. The physical components of FRIEND collect traffic flow-related data from passing vehicles. The collected data is used by an inference engine in the RSU’s cyber component to build beliefs about the state of the traffic, to detect traffic trends, and to disseminate relevant traffic flow-related information along the roadway

Reducing Risk of Password Reuse through Random Character Requirements and Image Prompting

Password reuse is a dangerous issue facing many users and their password-protected online accounts. When users fall into a habit of password reuse, they increase the risk of their accounts becoming compromised. We propose that the enforcement of a random character requirement during password generation will subdue the routine of reuse. Furthermore, to help users remember a required random character in their password, each user will be assigned an image which acts as a reminder of their random character. In this paper, we interview six participants and present them with eighteen images that each highlight a character or number association. Through the interview process we concluded that most participants would rather see numbers represented as plaintext in an image rather than counting a set of items. Additionally, we learned participants who utilize passphrases are less likely to find images as a helpful aid for required characters. Finally, we found users felt their image prompter was more secure when the image was busy, and they felt as though they knew a secret about the image

An Exploration of the Public’s Attitude toward Antibiotic Use and Prescription in Light of the Recent Ministry of Health Regulations: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Restricting antibiotic (AB) use with prescriptions and ensuring proper knowledge and attitudes toward AB use is important to reduce antibiotic resistance (ABR). To prevent resistanse problem, several countries have applied prescribing restrictions. Thus, the aim of this work was to re-evaluate the public knowledge and attitudes related to AB use in light of the recent Ministry of Health (MOH) restrictions on AB prescriptions. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based survey was distributed through various social media platforms. The survey was distributed via email and personal social media. Data were collected and analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Result: A total of 1333 participants completed the survey. Most participants were female (i.e., 70%), aged 18–24 years old (i.e., 40%), and were aware of the AB restrictions implemented by the MOH. In addition, 77% of participants were aware of the MOH Emergency Call Center (i.e., the 937 Service), but most did not know that it could be used to obtain an AB prescription. Conclusion: Although the knowledge and attitude of the general Saudi population appear better than before, it remains clear that some elements of the population’s knowledge, attitude, and practice need to be strengthened. This could be achieved by utilizing effective channels such as the MOH 937 Service and increased advertising